Liu Fang raised her eyebrows. The empress? Is she Murong Zhuo’s mother?
Oh, that’s not right.
She suddenly remembered that the current empress should be the second prince’s biological mother, the former noble consort.
Murong Zhuo’s biological mother, the original empress of Emperor Yanqing, had long since passed away.
So, the empress has also intervened?
Or, was it the second prince?
Liu Fang smiled slightly and drank her tea calmly. It didn’t matter, she would take it all.
As for whether what Bi Yan said was true or false? Oh, it didn’t matter.
“Un, you served me well. From now on, just follow me.”
Liu Fang said lightly, put down the teacup, picked up the chopsticks, leisurely picked up a piece of pastry on the table, and ate slowly.
…………
Murong Zhuo always arrived last, and he lazily sat down in his place. The Crown Princess followed closely behind him and sat next to him, behind her were four of the Crown Prince’s concubines, making it a large lineup.
Liu Fang looked at him, nodded slightly, and leaned forward slightly as a form of greeting.
Murong Zhuo raised his glass with a smile and winked at her slightly, as if he was trying to flirt with her. Liu Fang couldn’t help but laugh in her heart. This crown prince is very interesting.
She turned to look at the crown princess sitting next to him.
To her surprise, the crown princess was also quite beautiful, with a gentle expression and a smile, nodding at her as if she genuinely liked her.
Liu Fang: …(ー_ー)!! This couple is interesting too.
Liu Fang smiled politely at the crown princess, then turned to look at the second prince who was further down.
The second prince Murong Yue’s wife had already passed away, and he had not yet married a new one, so he only brought one concubine into the palace today.
The concubine had been eating non-stop, as if she hadn’t had enough for dinner.
However, Murong Yue seemed to ignore his concubine’s behavior. He sat in the front and leisurely enjoying his wine.
Liu Fang lowered her gaze and looked at the table in front of her. She ate some pastries and thought to herself: This second prince is quite interesting as well.
Murong Zhuo arrived late, so by the time he got there, everyone in the Zhenghe Hall had already taken their seats, waiting for Emperor Yanqing’s arrival.
Then a voice said, “The Emperor has arrived!”
Emperor Yanqing walked slowly into the hall, followed by the empress and a group of concubines, along with their attending maids.
Everyone in the hall stood up and knelt down respectfully, “Greetings to Your Majesty, may the Emperor be in good health! Greetings to the Empress, may the Empress be well!”
The concubines behind were omitted. In such an occasion, they were not qualified to be individually addressed. Even the noble consort did not have that privilege or honor.
Emperor Yanqing ascended to the high seat with his entourage and took their places before raising his hand and softly saying, “You may rise.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Everyone stood up. They were subjects of the Dayan Kingdom.
The members of the envoy had to wait for Emperor Yanqing’s order before they could come in and pay their respects one by one and take their seats.
…………
The envoy from the Five Nations entered first, starting with the envoy from the northern nation, Zhen Kingdom.
The chief envoy was the sixth prince⎯⎯Prince Yang, and the deputy envoy was his sister⎯⎯Princess Zhaoyang.
In short, they were here to see Liu Fang, the young heroine.
Zhen Kingdom was adjacent to Dayan, and although its territory was smaller, the entire nation excelled in medical and poisonous arts, making waves throughout the world.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, the Dayan Kingdom would not dare to easily provoke a nation like this. No matter how small the number of people on the other side was, if they used poison, even a large number on their side could end up in trouble.
Fortunately, despite its intimidating name, Zhen Kingdom was actually filled with bookish scholars who loved to study medicine and poison. It didn’t even have soldiers.
Not only did it pose no threat to the Dayan Kingdom, it had also maintained friendly relations with the Dayan Kingdom for hundreds of years.
It should be noted that during the previous dynasty, the Zhen Kingdom had already established friendly ties with the Dayan Kingdom.
Both nations were unwilling to start a war in the north.
As a result, the northern border was very peaceful for both Dayan Kingdom and Zhen Kingdom.
People from both countries even lived in the same village and got along harmoniously.
Therefore, the envoys sent by the Zhen Kingdom were only a few, purely there to enjoy the spectacle..
The customs of Zhen Kingdom were similar to those of Dayan Kingdom, so Prince Yang and Princess Zhaoyang paid their respects to Emperor Yanqing, presented the gifts they had brought along with the imperial edict from the Zhen Kingdom Emperor, and then took their seats.
During this time, Princess Zhaoyang caught sight of Liu Fang, first widening her eyes in surprise at her beauty, then marveling at her figure..
She tugged at her brother’s sleeve and said, “Sixth elder brother, look, that Marquis is so young and beautiful! And how come she is so tall and slender?”
Prince Yang looked at his younger sister’s figure. She was petite, plump, and fair-skinned, looking quite adorable.
Uhn, she’s getting more and more like a steamed bun, or even a peach of longevity.
Now she was staring with her big eyes wide open in amazement, she looked even more adorably silly.
Prince Yang nodded casually, his tone very perfunctory, “Yes, yes, that’s true.”
As for what it was, it didn’t really matter.
Prince Yang shrugged. He didn’t care. ╮(︶﹏︶)╭
When Princess Zhaoyang heard his words, she instantly puffed up in anger like a pufferfish: →_→
She shook off Prince Yang’s sleeve, puffed up her cheeks in a huff, and sat down, poking at the snacks in front of her with her chopsticks.
Seeing this, Prince Yang said softly, “Eighth younger sister, you really shouldn’t waste food. Otherwise, I will tell the eldest brother when I get back.”
When Princess Zhaoyang heard this, her hands froze instantly. She turned to look at her sixth elder brother in disbelief. Her eyes widened, round like black grapes.
“Sixth elder brother, you’re going to file a complaint?!”
Prince Yang smiled, as warm as a spring breeze, handsome and carefree, “Yes. I am going to complain! Before leaving the capital, I promised the eldest brother that I would report everything you did, without hiding a thing.”
Princess Zhaoyang immediately pouted, and Prince Yang quickly raised his hand, saying, “Hey, wait a minute, don’t cry just yet. The Elder brother also said that if you throw a fit in inappropriate places, he’ll make you go work in the medical field. Or…”
He looked at his sister’s frozen expression, smiled softly and said, “For a lifetime!”
When Princess Zhaoyang thought about having to farm for the rest of her life and dealing with manure, she quickly blinked and held back her tears.
She turned around, sat up straight, and elegantly picked up the crushed snacks, eating them one by one. Her demeanor was perfectly befitting of a princess.
Upon seeing this, Prince Yang smiled slightly, poured himself a glass of wine, drank it slowly while calmly watching the scene unfold.
Emperor Yanqing read the letter from the ruler of the Zhen Kingdom.
It simply included a polite greeting to Emperor Yanqing and expressed admiration for the emergence of a talented young woman like Liu Fang from their Dayan Kingdom, praising her as a heroic figure..
Finally, it congratulated Emperor Yanqing on his upcoming birthday, and so on.
Overall, Emperor Yanqing was pleased with the diplomatic letter from the Zhen Kingdom and the gifts they sent, which left him in a good mood.
…………
Following the delegation from Zheng Kingdom was the envoy from the southern state of Cheng Kingdom.
This Kingdom was an island nation that was very adept at commerce. The entire nation was also very fond of trade.
Therefore, it was a country that has had a long-standing friendly relationship with the Dayan Kingdom.
Unlike the Zhen Kingdom, the Cheng Kingdom has a very powerful navy that has been protecting its merchant fleets while conducting trade with neighboring countries, earning commissions in the process.
Dayan’s maritime trade was also well developed, so it had a lot of cooperation with the Cheng Kingdom.
Driven by mutual interests, the relationship between the two countries was naturally good.
Therefore, the members of their delegation this time also include members of the royal family.
The Cheng Kingdom crown prince⎯⎯Jin Manshan, personally served as the head of the delegation, bringing along his younger brother, sister, and cousins—around ten people in total, who came joyfully to join the excitement.
However, the etiquette of the Cheng Kingdom was different from that of the Dayan Kingdom. There was practice of kneeling and bowing.
So they simply bowed in greeting to Emperor Yanqing, then presented him with various treasures of gold and silver. As for the diplomatic letter, it was quite similar to that of the Zhen Kingdom.
After Crown Prince Jin Manshan exchanged a few pleasantries with Emperor Yanqing, he led the others to take their seats.
Once they were seated, Crown Prince Jin Manshan began discussing Liu Fang with his younger siblings.
“It’s her, right? The one sitting in the front.”
“Yes, yes, it’s definitely her. She is the eldest princess now.”
Emperor Yanqing was not young anymore, and the eldest princesses of his generation were quite elderly. This time, they were all in the rear halls with the Empress Dowager, rather than Zhenghe Hall.
Therefore, within the entire hall, the only eldest princess present was Liu Fang.
“Wow! She looks so young.”
“That’s normal. she’s only thirteen years old. so she’s naturally quite young.”
“But she’s really impressive! She’s tall and slim, but most importantly, she’s very beautiful.”
“Yeah, she’s truly stunning! You could say she’s the most beautiful woman in the world, right?”
“More beautiful than Ruolan Qianyu?”
“I think she is prettier than her. Besides, she is short and has acne on her face. If she didn’t wear makeup when going out, she would definitely not look that good.”
“That’s true. The makeup skills of Qingyan Pavilion are really amazing. They can turn even plain women into beauties. So just imagine how much better she looks!”
“That’s right…”
…………
Following the delegation from the Cheng Kingdom was the envoy from the eastern state of the Qu Kingdom.
The Qu Kingdom was a country dense with mountains and forests, and it had a substantial territory with a strong and resilient population.
Unlike the barbarians, they were martial enthusiasts who only engaged in a few skirmishes with the generals of the Dayan Kingdom each year along the border.
If they won, they demanded money and then went back; if they lost, they paid compensation and then returned.
As for the relationship between the two countries, It couldn’t be said to be bad, but it was not particularly harmonious either.
Therefore, this time they sent a well-known warrior from their Kingdom, intending to challenge Liu Fang, the renowned genius and heroic figure, in a fight just to experience her skills—that was all.
The Qu Kingdom valued martial prowess above all, but there were still distinctions of rank and hierarchy. They respected the law, observed etiquette, understood boundaries, and knew where the limits lay.
Therefore, they only followed their country’s highest etiquette—placing their hands together in front of their chests and bowing to greet Emperor Yanqing, exchanging a few pleasantries, and presenting him with gifts and a diplomatic letter.
The diplomatic letter was similarly dry and formal greetings and congratulations, nothing special.
Emperor Yanqing felt a bit disheartened after reading it.
The envoys of the Qu Kingdom paid no mind to Emperor Yanqing’s feelings. After completing their formalities, they silently took their seats.
They didn’t converse with each other. Instead, they quietly observed Liu Fang, each silently judging her in their hearts, creating an atmosphere that was very quiet and serious..
